Financial sector firms ignore women’s charter

Letter from select committee chair asks why.

The Women in Finance Charter is a commitment by HM Treasury and signatory firms to work together to build a more gender balanced and fair financial services industry.

And in November 2017 HM Treasury announced that 162 firms across the financial services sector have now signed the Women in Finance Charter.

These firms have committed to implement four key industry actions, as recommended in Jayne-Anne Gadhia’s review into the representation of women in senior management in financial services published in March 2016.

The Charter commits firms to supporting the progression of women into senior roles in the financial services sector by focusing on the executive pipeline and the mid-tier level; recognises the diversity of the sector and that firms will have different starting points – each firm should therefore set its own targets and implement the right strategy for their organisation; and requires firms to publicly report on progress to deliver against these internal targets to support the transparency and accountability needed to drive change.

Organisations are to pledge to promote gender diversity by:

having one member of their senior executive team who is responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion;

setting internal targets for gender diversity in our senior management;

publishing progress annually against these targets in reports on our website; and

having an intention to ensure the pay of the senior executive team is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity.

Last week Nicky Morgan, MP, as Chair of the Treasury Committee, wrote to over 30 firms in the financial services industry that are yet to sign up to the Charter.

In the letter, Morgan asks if the firms will be signing the Charter, and if not, their reasons for not doing so.

Commenting on her letter, Morgan said: “The progress of the Women in Finance Charter is to be welcomed.

“The aim, however, must be to see all firms in the financial sector sign up to the Charter and make a concerted effort to improve their gender diversity, particularly in senior roles.

“As the Charter states, a balanced workforce is good for customers, profitability and workplace culture.

“Huge multi-nationals including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and UBS are yet to sign up to the Charter, and if they don’t intend to do so, the Treasury Committee wants them to explain why.”

To see which businesses have signed up so far, click here.

HM Treasury welcomes interest in the charter from all firms of any type and size, and firms can still sign the Women in Finance Charter and join the second cohort of signatories. Email for more information about the charter.

To encourage those who have not yet signed the charter and formally committed to implement these recommendations, please send them the link to womeninfinance and ask them to do so by completing the online form.

The deadline for written submissions to the Treasury Committee’s inquiry into Women in Finance, focusing on HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter and the progress made against it is 28 February 2018.

If you wish to submit written evidence to this inquiry, click here.